Passenger numbers down 97%.....Icelandair struggles on

There is no doubt the ongoing Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic is continuing to drastically reduce the number of people either willing or able to fly, this fact demonstrated by airlines around the world reporting big drops in passenger numbers of the year.  Icelandair saw its passenger numbers decline by 97% in November according to its latest information release.

The struggling Reykjavik based airline's total number of passengers in November was less than 7,000 decreasing by 97% from the same month in 2019. The number of passengers both to and from Iceland was around 3,400. The number of via passengers in November was such a small number and insignificant it wasn't even reported. The load factor on Icelandair’s flights was 32.4% compared to 78.6% in November 2019. The losses on each flight are astronomical and unsustainable in the long term with local commentators expecting the airline to seek another government injection in February.  

The number of passengers on domestic flights was around 6,000 in November, decreasing by 72% from the year before. The total capacity was down by 65%. The load factor was 57.1% compared with 71.9% the year before.

The number of sold block hours in charter flights decreased by 73% year-on-year. Freight only decreased by 2% year-on-year, measured in Freight Tonne Kilometres.

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